The group is tasked by May's executive order to prepare a comprehensive report on ways to grow the aviation industry and impact. The aviation industry, both commercial and general, is directly responsible for over 100,000 jobs in North Carolina, and the  industry's impact exceeds $25 billion in North Carolina annually.

 

Among the members is Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata. The chairman is John Lennon of New Hanover County. As the managing partner for Oceancrest Advisory Services, Lennon is responsible for business development and the oversight of developing strategic relationships throughout the industry. Lennon is also the chair of the aviation committee on the North Carolina Board of Transportation. 

 

Other appointees:

 

Michael Landguth, A.A.E. (Wake County) – Landguth is the president and CEO of Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Prior to joining RDU, he served as CEO and president of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority. 

 

Dan Danieley (Alamance County) – Danieley is the executive director of the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport. He is also the vice president of the Board of Directors of the NC Airports Association. 

 

John Taws (Moore County) – Taws is the president of Fletcher Industries, Inc., a company that provides manufacturing solutions for special application textiles.  He is a member of the Moore County Partners in Progress Board of Directors. Taws is the vice-chairman. 

 

Robin Hayes (Cabarrus County) – Hayes is a businessman and former Congressman who represented North Carolina’s 8th Congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009. Hayes owns a hosiery mill in Mount Pleasant. 

 

James Kalbach (Chowan County) –Kalbach is the Northeastern Regional Airport Commission chairman. Previously, he worked for Whitener Capital Management and several peanut production companies throughout the Southeast. 

 

Larry Ford (Clay County) – Ford is an attorney whose practice concentrates on estate and Medicaid planning and related legal matters on behalf of clients and charitable organizations throughout Western North Carolina. He currently serves as chairman and Board Member of the Clay County Travel & Tourism Authority. 

 

Jim Bailey (Carteret County) –Bailey is a real estate developer in Carteret County. He is the principal and founder of Old Seaports Development, LLC, Bailey Shore Development, LLC, and Oceanfront Resort Development, LLC.  

 

W. Ashley Smith Jr. (Lenoir County) – Smith is the president/CEO of Jet Logistics Inc. He is the incoming chairman of the National Business Aviation Association’s Domestic Operations committee.  

 

Steve Bright (New Hanover County) -  Bright is the co-owner and co-founder of Talbert & Bright Engineering Planning Consultants. TBI delivers results for any aviation engineering projects requiring a workable balance of scope, schedule and budget.  

 

 

 

Julie Wilsey (Brunswick County) – Wilsey is the deputy airport director of  Wilmington International Airport. She was recently named the airport’s next airport director. She has coordinated more than $72 million in airport infrastructure upgrades and $70 million in state and federal grant projects. 

 

Gary Lowder (Stanly County) – Lowder is the chairman of Stanly County’s airport authority and has served on the authority for over 15 years. 

 

Bill Whiteheart (Forsyth County) – Whiteheart is the business owner/operator of Whiteheart Outdoor Advertising Company Inc., which focuses on advertising, equipment sales & leasing and farming. He is a Forsyth County Commissioner. He also serves as the National Association of Counties vice-chairman of the Airport Sub-Committee, as chairman of the Airport Commission in Forsyth County, and is on the board of trustees for the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation. 

 

Russell Barringer Jr. (Durham County) – Barringer is the chairman and CEO of Dealers Supply Company. He is a private instrument-related pilot and aircraft owner.  Barringer was appointed to the NC Aeronautics Council by Governor Martin. 

 

Kevin Baker (Guilford County) – Baker is the executive director of the Piedmont Triad International Airport. Prior to being named executive director, Baker served as the assistant director to PTI. 

 

Kenneth Walker (Mecklenburg County) - Walker is retired from Driven Brands, Inc. He served on the Charlotte Douglas International Airport Oversight Committee. 

 

Louis Ridley Jr. (Mecklenburg County) - Ridley works for the Federal Aviation Administration in the FAA Headquarters Performance-Based Navigation Office. Prior to this, Ridley served as an air traffic control specialist for the FAA.